Our Projects

2013

Short Stories

Always a significant part of our programme, our shorts activity has taken a giant leap forward this year and includes the launch of three new films designed to help you get your short seen.

We started the year off right here in London enjoying the London Short Film Festivalin the company of a delegation of international curators who joined us from France, Italy, Poland, Germany, Netherlands and Serbia, sponsored by British Council offices in their respective countries. The group had exclusive access to UK work and enjoyed a programme of introductions to key UK film partners, starting with the British Council-sponsored LSFF opening night reception. The Festival came to a close with the Awards ceremony at which Nicholas Abrahams' Ekki Mukk carried off the British Council Best UK Short Award - and you can watch right here:

Since we re-launched our Shorts Support Scheme last year, in partnership with the BFI, we’ve made 55 individual Travel Grants to filmmakers to help them present their work at major film festivals. Eva Weber's Reindeer, Fyzal Boulifa's The Curse and actor -turned-director Romola Garai's Scrubberwere among those heading for Sundance with our help (and by way of celebration we were delighted to be able to stage another Sundance Send -off in partnership with our friends at BAFTA, where selected guests from the UK industry drank a toast to the UK filmmakers selected for the festival the night before they left). You can read about all of the UK films in Sundance by clicking here.

Early February sees the re-launch of the UK Film presence at Clermont Ferrand, the world’s most prestigious short film festival after several year’s absence. In a new partnership with BFI we’ll be leading a group of 15 key film organisations including Creative England and Encounters in a market stand representing the best of UK short film.

Finally - we’re delighted to launch Shortsighted right here! Three short films we have made in partnership with the team at BAFTA Guru, as a result of a joint conference of the same name staged by British Council, BAFTA and Shooting People last year. Designed to help filmmakers once they have completed a short film to navigate the murky world of exhibition and distribution and actually get that film seen, these three Shortsighted films explore the pros and cons of Film Festivals, unpick traditional means of distribution and question the latest thinking around on-line distribution. A range of experts from the worlds of distribution, exhibition and film promotion, together with fellow filmmakers who have trod the path before you, discuss the issues - and you can see the results right here:

About Us

British Council Film links UK films and filmmakers to international audiences, profiling innovation, diversity and excellence and seeking opportunities for creative exchange between UK and international film communities.